Crowdsource Testing

What is Crowdsource Testing?
Crowdsource testing is an emerging trend in software testing which exploits the benefits, effectiveness, and efficiency of crowdsourcing and the cloud platform. It differs from traditional testing methods in that the testing is carried out by a number of different testers from different places, and not by hired consultants and professionals. The software is put to test under diverse realistic platforms which makes it more reliable, cost-effective, fast, and bug-free.
This method of testing is considered when the software is more user-centric: i.e., software whose success is determined by its user feedback and which has a diverse user space. It is frequently implemented with gaming, mobile applications, when experts who may be difficult to find in one place are required for specific testing, or when the company lacks the resources or time to carry out the testing internally. Crowdsourcing your software testing consists of delegating onto a number of internet users the task of testing your web or software project while in development to ensure that it contains no defects.
Crowdsource testing companies provide the platform for the testing cycles. They then crowdsourse the Product to a community of testers, who register for testing the software voluntarily.
Testers are paid per bug, depending on type of bug and its market price. The crowdsource testing team is usually in addition to the organization’s testing team, and not usually a replacement.
Crowdsource testing vs Outsource testing
The main difference is that, in crowdsource testing, testers may belong to different workplaces. In outsource testing, the testers are from the same company or workplace that is responsible for outsourcing. In crowdsource testing, people voluntarily test a software with the possibility of not being paid (if no bugs are discovered). Outsource testers always get paid for their work.

Advantages of Crowdsource testing:

  • Real insights from the real world, not just made up test case results
  • Rapid feedback right away.
  • With crowdsourcing, testers automatically test your interactive project against a variety of platforms
  • It is cost effective, as the product company pays only for the valid bugs reported.
  • The pool of testers is diverse with variations in languages as well as locales. This helps in testing applications which are based on localization.
  • Testing done by hundreds of people at the same time. As there are large number of testers testing a software simultaneously, testing can be done quickly, giving more time to market. Time to test the software is comparably less.
  • Leads to better productivity.

Disadvantages of Crowdsource testing:

  • Security and Confidentiality : When offering a project to a crowd for testing, it is exposed to a large number of internet users worldwide.
  • If the project is not released, a large number of users are able to access it fully and discover its secrets.
  • Inconsistent quality and increased workload : The users that compose your crowd of testers are from different backgrounds, speak different languages and possess different levels of experience.
  • They may be a number of poorly written bugs, duplicate bugs and erroneous bugs.

Some Crowdsource testing Tools:

  • InnoCentive

  • TopCoder

  • Amazon Mechanical Turk

  • uTest

  • Passbrains

  • Bugfinders

  • TXTeagle

source: http://www.softwaretestingdiary.com/2012/07/crowdsourced-testing.html

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